Portugal-France rivalries and the role of Portuguese spies in French ports (1503-1566)

Abstract

In the first half of the sixteenth century, the spice trade between Portugal and India spiked the interest of different European realms, leading to overseas expeditions, thus making Portuguese ships from Asia a very desirable target for privateers and pirates, the French having particularly stood out in this timeframe. To face these perils, and in tandem with the mobilisation of armed forces to protect the Portuguese navigation, an espionage network was put in place in order to gather intelligence that could anticipate French movements, be them in regards to expeditions’ preparation, or naval attacks. In this study, we will delve deeper into the intricacies of this espionage network, so as to attempt to get a better understanding of how Portugal received intelligence that informed oftentimes contrasting policy objectives toward its carefully constructed spice trade route.